Crane's Summit

鹤顶Hè Dǐng

Anatomical location

At the center of the superior border of the patella.

Same point as 156PC · Hè Dǐng — Curious Points catalog

Main function

Strengthens the knee, activates the local collateral.

Therapeutic indications

Knee pain
leg weakness
paralysis
muscle atrophy (Wei pattern)

Name and classical tradition

Heding, 鹤顶, is the “crane’s crown”: 鹤 (鶴), the crane; 顶 (頂), the top of the head. The image is of the bent knee as the round head of a crane, with the point at the very top of the patella, at the center of its superior border.

It does not appear in any of the classical works we were able to check. Secondary sources trace it to surgical works of the Ming or Qing period, and its first mention remains unclear. Because of its position it has been used for knee pain and weakness, like its neighbors below, EX-LE5.

Location of point EX-LE2, Crane's Summit — Reusable plate · CC BY-ND 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

View point on the 3D modelEX-LE2 on the anatomy

Needling techniquePerpendicular or obliquely downward insertion.

Depth0.5-0.8 cun

MoxibustionApplicable.

PrecautionsNone in particular.

Protocols for the 20 patterns you see most in practice

Each pattern with its tongue, its pulse, the treatment principle and the points to tonify and disperse. Made for the treatment table, not the bookshelf.